Why Does God Turn Away?

Come quickly, LORD, and answer me, for my depression deepens. Don’t turn away from me, or I will die. [Psalm 143.7]

There is something intriguing about this verse penned by David.

For all the things that contribute to depression in man today, could it be that the real source of all depression is the feeling of separation from God?

How many people who previously followed God have turned away because they felt abandoned by God?

I spoke to a man just this week who felt this way. His parents fussed about money - his mother wanted to give to the church and his father did not. His mother eventually committed suicide when he was young. The preacher eventually ran off with the church's money. And now, as an adult, his 4 year old daughter has diabetes.

It really seems like sometimes God is just nowhere to be found. It is no wonder that depression sets in.

Where does God go?

David gives us a clue in the verse above. God doesn't really "go" anywhere. He simply turns away. The only reason any good at all comes to our lives is because God looks upon us. But when He turns away, all hell (literally) is loosed.

Why then does God turn away?

If only we would all ask this question with sincerity!

The problem comes when we ask "why does God turn away?" with pride instead of humility.

When the question, "why does God turn away?" is asked with pride, it is asked based on a self-evaluation of innocence. The question then is directed at God as if His turning away was a matter of His 'unknown' will. The question is succinctly, "God, what are YOU doing?"

However, when the question, "why does God turn away?" is asked with humility, it is asked based on the Word of God and acknowledges that God turns away from sin. The question then is directed at oneself as if God's turning away was a matter of disobedience on the person asking the question. The question then is clearly, "God, what am I doing wrong?"

It cannot be said much simpler than Isaiah said it:

It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore. [Isaiah 59.2]

When we ask, "why does God turn away?" in humility, we acknowledge another important fact from the Bible that we do not necessarily know our own hearts:

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. [Psalm 139.23-24]

I make no apology for God's Word. Curses and death are the result of sin every time.

God turns away from sin. And, when God turns away, every imaginable curse lies in wait to pounce.

The only hope for sinful man then, is repentance and faith in Christ. 

Be sure however, that faith in Christ is of no accord to the unrepentant. How could it be?

Father, help us to get real with our question, "why has God turned away?"